


three times everyone thought they hated each other

by lizamarri



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: (a bunch of the listed characters are just mentioned), 3+1 Things, 5+1 Things, Bisexual Will Solace, Boys Kissing, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Canoe Lake (Percy Jackson), Capture The Flag (Percy Jackson), Caught Making Out, Established Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, F/M, Fluff, Gay Nico di Angelo, HOPELESS GAYS I LOVE THEM, Happy Nico, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I swear it's almost done, Infirmary (Percy Jackson), M/M, Making Out, Next summer, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace Fluff, Nico is a Dork, Nico-centric, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sassy Nico, Sparring, but it's three plus one cause im lazy, but nOT TODAY BITCHES, duh - Freeform, going back to my slow burns now, it's been a year since the war with Gaea btw, nico is so sassy in this holy shit it happened by accident but i made him a sinnamon roll help, percabeth and jasper are minor, rated t for making out and language, solangelo, someday i will stop writing mindless fluff, we got allll the tropes in here guys, whenever nico takes off his shirt will. just. stares.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24276004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizamarri/pseuds/lizamarri
Summary: and the one time everyone realized they didn't~ft. capture the flag, big three kids sparring, will healing nico and being sassy about it, and more. enjoy!
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Kayla Knowles & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo & Jason Grace, Nico di Angelo & Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo & The Seven, Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 49
Kudos: 571





	1. go to the infirmary now, death boy.

“Oh my gods, can you just go away?”

Will Solace crosses his arms, tilting his chin up. For the son of a known carefree god, he can be  _ such  _ a stick in the mud.    
Well, according to Nico at least. 

“No, I can’t,” Will insists. “I am staying with you until you get to the gods-damned infirmary. I’m not kidding around di Angelo, I’ll get Grace over here to drag you there if you don’t come willingly.”

“I’d do it, Nico,” Jason insists. “You need to at least get those cuts treated.”

“They’re practically healed!”

Will ducks underneath his arm, and pulls up his t-shirt to his ribs. Marring his toned plane of olive skin is a nasty-looking stab wound, framed with blood and swelling.

Nico darts back, shoving his t-shirt back down. “I cannot believe you just-”

“Nico,” Jason insists. “Get to the infirmary. I swear to the gods, Neeks, you’re gonna die before you accept you need help.”

The painful accuracy of Jason’s words send a wave of shame over him. Nico clenches his fists, rolling his eyes behind closed lids. “You know what? Fine.”

Will crosses his arms. “Was that so hard?”

Nico clenches his jaw. “Watch it, sunshine,” he growls. “I have a sword, you know. One that’s killed more powerful beings then your sorry ass.”

Will shrugs, a smirk playing on his lips. “Ahh, you’d never catch me.” Will grabs his arm, dragging him away from Jason. “I learned from the first time, you know. I am literally not letting you go until that wound is cleaned and bandaged.”

“Gods, you’re such an ass,” Nico grumbles, stumbling after him in the dirt. “I swear, someday I’m going to punch your pretty face.”

Will grins. “Aww, you think I’m pretty?”

Will marches him up the steps to the infirmary, a low-slung building with wooden beds and airy windows. 

“You knew that already,” Nico counters. 

“Mmm, but did I?”

Nico bites his lip, glaring upwards at his boyfriend. “Oh shut up.”

“Inside, Death Boy,” Will insists. “We’re getting you cleaned up.”

When he marches Nico through the doors, Kayla looks at him a little… oddly. “You good over there, Solace?”

“Nico got hit and he’s refusing treatment,” Will shrugs. “I just did what had to be done.”

“If that’s being an ass, then yeah.”

Kayla restrains a chuckle at Nico’s comment. “Call me if you need anything, ‘kay?”

Will waves her off, turning his attention to the medical cart in the corner. Inside, the infirmary is a strange combination of modern medical technology and outdated furniture. Because of how technology tends to malfunction around half bloods, there aren’t any EKG’s or other machines, but all the bandages, syringes, medicines, and equipment? Top class. 

“You’d be surprised at how much money Chiron gets from Olympus every year,” Will comments. “A lot of it goes to all this.”

He pulls out some antiseptic, cotton balls, gauze, unicorn draught, and a suturing needle and thread. “Lie down, will you?”

Nico sits. 

Will chuckles. “I did say  _ lie  _ down, didn’t I?”

Nico scoffs and leans all the way back.

Will bites his smile, shaking his head. “Gods, you’re so stubborn.”

“You’re one to talk,” Nico comments. “I have never seen a more dedicated doctor. You literally  _ dragged _ me into the hospital. That takes some gall.”

“Why would I need gall to take you on, Neeks?”

Nico rolls his eyes playfully. “Other than being the literal reincarnation of death, what do you think?”

Will’s hands are steady as they gradually pull back Nico’s t-shirt, dragging the thin fabric back from the wound. Will almost winces when he catches a glimpse of it, pulling back with his experienced years of tending to nasty wounds, but Nico catches the look. “Is it bad?”

“Sort of. You’ll live, by the way. Probably get a wicked scar.”

Nico sighs. “Yeah, like I need more of those.”

Will cleans up the wounds, swiping it with gauze. Nico tenses violently, grinding his teeth in pain. 

“‘M sorry,” Will mumbles. “Forgot how much this type of stuff hurts.”

Nico lays his head back on the pillow, breathing heavily. “Distract me, then, Solace. So you were stabbed? Once upon a time?”

Will’s laugh is a little bittersweet. “Battle of New York. I barely fought, actually, spent most of my time treating people back at the Marriott hotel. But at the end, when everything got crazy, I got nicked in the stomach. Never was that good at fighting.” He cleans a bit of blood off with another piece of gauze, then tenses.

Nico can feel it. “What is it?”

Will winces in anticipation. “This is going to hurt. A- a lot.”

“I can take it,” Nico insists. 

“Neeks-”

“I can take it,” Nico growls. “I’m not the Ghost King for nothing, Solace. Lay it on me.”

Will bites his lip. “Alright.” He picks up the bottle of unicorn draught, and Nico steels himself for what’s to come. 

Will drenches the wound, and Nico barely keeps back a yell. His fists clench in the sheets, and a choked-off sound of mirth makes it’s way past his clamped lips. 

At the worst possible moment, the door slams open. “Nico!” Annabeth greets. “Jason told us you- oh my gods!”

“Shut up,” Will commands. “I don’t want him to feel any more pain then he already is.”

Percy walks into the room behind Annabeth, and his jaw drops. “Did he-?”

Will nods. “Got nicked in training. Apparently it’s a little more than a nick. Give me a sec, Jackson, I’ll be right with you.”

Will begins to properly clean out the wound. “Death Boy,  _ this  _ is why you have to come to me the minute you're injured. The reason this hurts so much is because there’s bacteria in the wound.”

“Oh shut the hell up,” Nico gasps. “You’re such a know-it-all.”

Will shrugs. He makes one last swipe with his gauze, causing Nico to squeak in pain again. Will tugs out the now bloody gauze, and dumps it along with all the others into a nearby trash can.

There are beads of sweat on Nico’s hairline. “I hate you.”

“Of course you do,” Will comments. He pads the wound with gauze, packing it tight. “Sit up, will you?”

Nico complies. 

Will grabs a section of ACE bandage, running it around Nico’s torso. “And Neeks?” He pulls the bandage securely around Nico’s waist. “Next time you think of keeping a wound to yourself-” He wraps the cloth around his wrist, tugging it a little tighter than needed. Nico flinches in pain. “Remember that.”

Nico scowls, and Will tapes off the bandage, dropping Nico’s shirt back down. “You’re free to go, di Angelo.”

Nico keeps his scowl up, swinging his legs over the bed before standing up swiftly, and marching to the door.

Percy blinks once, twice. “Remind me never to mess with that guy.”

Annabeth shakes her head. “So, Neeks, I wanted to ask if you could spar with us..”

Their voices trail away as Nico walks with them, leaving Will alone in the infirmary. 

Well, not quite alone.

“And what was that about?”

It’s Kayla. He’s surprised she’s not outside with her bow. 

“He keeps getting injured,” Will scowls. “And now getting it treated. He’s going to kill himself someday.”

Kayla rolls her eyes with a smile. “You care too much, Will.”

“Maybe,” he reasons. “Or maybe not.”

“Stop talking in riddles, Solace, it doesn’t fit you.”

That coaxes a laugh from him on his way out. 


	2. skeleton acrobatics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico takes Jason up on his sparring offer. He makes a rather brash and impressive move- but it's foiled by one Will Solace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a little short but the next chapter's already written and i promise it's, like, 2k.

Nico laces up his boots. After the whole tattered-tropical-shirt incident, members of the Aphrodite cabin took it personally upon themselves to find him proper clothing. He tried to resist, but they came at him anyway.

Actually, they were quite… good.

The t-shirts consisted mostly of plain black and a few with his traditional skull design on them. Along with a comfortable leather jacket, skinny jeans and combat boots were provided. He’s managed to collect what can definitely be considered a wardrobe.

As he finishes dressing, he has to admit- it kind of works. He’s not goth, per say, but just… a little bit emo. 

Besides, these combat boots are freaking  _ amazing. _ They’re super durable, like yesterday, he leapt off the lava wall (something that scared Jason half to death) and in rolling to a stop, the boots supported his weight perfectly. 

So yeah. Thanks Aphrodite cabin. 

Nico swings open the door of the Hades cabin, wincing at the light like he always does. Even after redecorating, there’s still nothing he can do to get rid of the general darkness that permeates the entire cabin.    
The same way the Apollo cabin manages to glow, really. 

Nico’s first glimpse of his boyfriend that morning is at breakfast. Like usual, he eats alone at the Hades table. 

Will laughs at something his sister says, and Nico has to bite his lip to prevent a smile of his own. 

The second time he sees Will is a little… less pleasant. And also  _ very _ pleasant. Two in one. 

After taking Annabeth up on her sparring offer a few days ago, Jason had decided he wanted to get in on the action. Fighting him is a stretch, especially because of the whole he-can-fly-and-I-can’t side of the argument.

But Nico can take him. 

Or he could have, if Will Solace hadn’t shown up. 

Let's rewind a bit.

Nico grabs his sword, swinging the three foot blade of Stygian Iron through the air. “Are you sure you don’t want to back out?”

Jason grabs his own blade. “Nope, I’m good.”

Nico narrows his eyes, securing a firmer grip on his sword. “Will Piper care too much if I totally kick your ass?”

“She’ll probably beat me up anyway,” Jason responds, the easy smile he gets whenever he talks about Piper coming back onto his face. “So go ahead, Ghost King.”

Nico takes that as an invitation. So, he charges. 

Iron clashes against gold as Jason blocks his first strike, shoving back with such a force Nico almost stumbles. 

_ Almost. _

He spins, slashing forward, aiming his blade for Jason’s unprotected torso. The son of Jupiter evades him, sidestepping with the grace only a trained warrior could have. He puts in his own fight, stabbing for Nico’s chest and pressing forward with unwavering ferocity. 

Nico falls back, lashing out and parrying Jason’s blade, knocking it to the side. Jason slashes this time, and Nico blocks the strike, leaning forward and managing to catch Jason’s thigh in a surprise kick. The Roman stumbles, but regains his balance. “So that’s how we’re gonna play, huh?”

Nico shrugs. “Never said anything about swords only.”

Jason keeps quiet, putting his energy into darting forward with another stab, this one to a lower point on Nico’s stomach. He bats the blade away with his own, parrying Jason’s second slash as he presses forward. 

Jason ducks underneath his swing, rolling under his arm in a somersault and whipping his blade to Nico’s unexposed back. Nico stumbles, evading the blade but losing his balance as Jason stands and continues to press forward. 

Nico blocks his strikes, but the height difference does him dirty as Jason manages to disarm him and back him up against a training post. 

“That’s really all you got, Neeks?” Jason pants as Nico ducks under the swipe of his sword. 

Nico weighs the odds, calculating in a split second whether or not he can make it.

He can. 

Nico turns, using the three feet between him and the post as a running start. He leaps off the ground, running vertically up the post until he reaches the top. Stepping on the flat peak, he pushes his body into overdrive, flinging one leg in front of the other in a cartwheel-like backflip. 

For a moment, he’s weightless.

With his ADHD, the smallest moments feel the longest. It seems as though he’s flying through the air for minutes, not seconds. 

“Nico!”

The shout of his name startles him, and his form slips the most infinitesimal bit, but it’s enough. 

His second foot lands on the floor soundly, but his first fumbles and just like that, he’s crashing onto the ground.

Jason gapes at him. “Holy crap dude, that was amazing.”

“Yeah,” Nico groans. “Except for the part where I fell on my ass.”

“Nico are you ok?”

It’s Will. 

“I’m fine,” He grumbles, dragging himself to his feet. “But next time Solace, don’t yell for me when I’m mid-air.”

Will has the decency to look slightly ashamed, and Nico scoops his sword up from the floor, sliding it back into the sheath. “Sorry Jace, but-”

“Dude, you just did some Black Widow level gymnastics, I’m not complaining about cutting practice short.”

He doesn’t know exactly who Black Widow is, but the name does ring a bell. Nico grimaces, flexing his ankle, and sets off towards his cabin. 

Footsteps to his back alert him, and not a second later Will comes into view. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s ok,” Nico shrugs. “I almost beheaded you when I first saw you, so we’re even.”

Will grins, that stupid infectious grin that never seems to go away. “Great. Tell me if your ankle hurts though, alright? Untreated injuries are always worse than treated ones. Better be safe than sorry, and whatever.”

Nico rolls his eyes, biting down his smile. “Whatever you say, Sunshine.”

Will’s grin may leave him in the next few minutes, but it won’t be gone for long. It never is. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you think? lowkey I have no idea whether this is good or not lmao.


	3. capture the flag more like kidnap the boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Capture the Flag, and Jason insists that he will absoloutely not lose to his girlfriend. Little does he know, Nico isn't planning to lose to his boyfriend either.  
> Unfortunately, he gets a little wet in the process.
> 
> TLDR; capture the flag + falling in the lake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i can't stop writing solangelo so here you go i don't even know what I'm doing anymore

“We have to win this. I don’t know what I’m going to do if we can’t win this!”

Nico rolls his eyes. “Jason. Calm down.”

“I can’t calm down!” the blonde yells. “This is life or death, Nico. Life. Or. Death!”

Nico lets his head fall into his hands, officially hoping for the nullification of his existence. 

“I have to beat Piper. I absolutely  _ have  _ to.”

Nico switches his position, this time his head falls back onto a tree. “The plan is solid, Jason. You’ll beat her. Besides, we have Annabeth.  _ Nothing _ beats Annabeth’s plans.”

“But you don’t understand!” Jason gripes. “You don’t have a boyfriend. I have to beat Piper!”

Part of him yearns to just blurt it out, to yell,  _ Yeah, I do, and I’m not wanting to beat him so bad in a literal game that I’m yelling at the top of my lungs. _

But he reigns himself in, taking a deep breath. “How about we go over the plan one more time. Just to make sure there’s no bumps.”

“Ok,” Jason answers. “Alright. First, her Hermes and Demeter cabins lead their decoy front line and do a straight on attack. Athena will lead the second decoy meant to look like the ‘real’ attack, then we go in. And if we need to, you can fry any traps that Valdez has cooked up, I can test for ones with skeletons.”

“Ok,” Jason breathes. “Ok. We’ve got a plan. It’s a good plan. Phew. We’ve got this.”

“Just sit down, Grace, you’re giving me a headache.” Annabeth glares down, her arms crossed. “My plan is solid. Our respective partners aren’t gonna stand a chance.”

Jason finally takes a seat, nodding. “Is everyone ready?”

Troops were assembled, Demeter and Hermes ready for the first strike, and Athena following them afterwards. 

Annabeth leaps onto Zeus’s fist, perching gracefully at the top. “Gather ‘round!” she shouts. All the campers shuffle to attention, looking up at their leader. “We have a solid plan, and you all know what you have to do.”

The campers below her nod.

“All of you know what rides on us winning tonight. Do you want hot showers? Do you not want to do the dishes?”

Cheers rise. 

“Then we have to win!”

Nico rolls his eyes. “This is so inspiring.” His voice is dripping with sarcasm.

“Athena, Demeter, Hermes- you’ll be on the offense with the plans we discussed. Hypnos and Tyche- you’ll be border patrol. Tyche, you’re in charge of keeping Hypnos awake, and Hypnos, you’re in charge of putting anyone who crossed in here to sleep. Hebe and Iris will guard the flag, along with a few select members from other cabins. I want Cecil Markowitz, Miranda Gardener, Malcolm Pace, and Chris Rodriguez to stay back and lead the guard. After the double blind is operated successfully, Zeus and Hades will commence their stealth mission to take the flag. Nico, I’m expecting you to be prepared to go solo in the presence of charmspeak. Dismissed!”

Nico’s face flares a bit at the mention of charmspeak, but he bites his lip and turns to Jason. “Well? Are we gonna do this thing?”

Jason takes off his spectacles like a spy would with sunglasses. He tucks them into his armor. “You bet, Ghost King. Time to get bragging rights over my girlfriend.”

_ And my boyfriend, _ Nico thinks.  _ But I’ll make fun of him later. _

While they wait for Hermes and Athena teams to finish the double blind move, Nico and Jason wait. Annabeth agreed that he should shadow-travel them both in over the boundary line, stealth being more important than numbers. 

Jason occupies himself by levitating a rock, supporting it with winds as he bounces the pebble from tree to tree. Nico is not to be outdone. He twirls his fingers, and a few bones dig themselves up from the ground. He’s not sure what it was. A rat, or maybe a baby myrmek. He reanimates the creature, watching it scuttle around for a second before he blows open his hand, palm out. The bones fall apart, and sink back into the dirt. 

“Don’t use up too much energy,” Jason warns.

Nico rolls his eyes. “Ok, mom.”

A leaf sails through the air, and drifts to the ground at their feet. 

“A birch leaf,” Nico announces. “That’s Annabeth’s signal. From the birch nymph she befriended. Come on, we have to go!”

Jason nods, all humor gone from his gaze. Whenever Jason gets serious, he gets  _ serious. _ “Shadow-travel us in,” he commands. 

Nico holds out a hand, and Jason grasps it tight. Nico envisions the central clearing on the other side of the forest, far across the boundary line. He reaches out into the shadows of a towering maple, and passes through the dark side of the moon.

“Oh, wow,” Jason gasps as soon as they tumble out of the darkness. “I’d forgotten how crazy that is. Wow. Is my face still on?”

“Shut up,” Nico murmurs. “Scouts. My ten o’clock. Lift us up- now, Grace!”

Jason grabs his wrist, and suddenly Nico’s feet are off the ground. It feels incredibly strange, like there’s an invisible geyser beneath his feet, pushing him higher. Jason reaches out, latching onto a tree and hugging the trunk. Nico pulls himself onto a branch, peering through a bushel of leaves to the ground.

Campers walk across the very spot Nico teleported to. He peers low, barely making out the faces of Ellis Wakefield and Sherman Yang.

He waits until they’re out of hearing distance before he turns to Jason. “Ares,” he murmurs. “We’re close to the flag. We need to follow them.”

“Got it,” Jason murmurs. “I’ll levitate us down.”

He does, smoothly, and the feeling of it is just as strange as before. But it’s over in a minute, and soon the tips of his combat boots are touching the grass. 

Their trek through the woods is silent. Nico’s footsteps are muted by the tough ground, dry from the lack of storms. This, more than anything else, is when the basics are important. Jason may have his legion training, but, well, Nico trained with the dead. There’s a reason death is a silent matter. 

Skeletons know how to shut the hell up. Nico picked up that talent. Nowadays, he moves quietly without even thinking about it. Maybe it’s the natural persona. 

Of, you, the incarnation of death. 

Nico shakes the thought spiral from his brain, and follows Jason through the brush. Suddenly, their unknowing guides stop.

Nico learns this second-hand, as Jason lurches to a stop. Nico tilts his head in an inquiring manner, but Jason only points ahead. 

Suspended in the center of a clearing, is a beautiful, shimmering flag. 

But what pulls his attention more is who’s guarding it. 

_ Solace, _ Nico thinks.  _ I can handle Solace. _

The Ares kids murmur something to a girl, and it’s only then that Nico sees- it’s Piper. The Queen is fighting herself, then. 

Just like a miracle, Meralda from the Hecate cabin bursts through the trees across from him and Jason. “Piper- we’ve been attacked. Our fighters are keeping them at bay, but it’s two whole cabins- Hermes and Demeter.”

“Alright,” Piper acknowledges. “But there has to be something more. Annabeth will have a plan, not an attack call.”

“That’s exactly it,” Meralda pants. “One of our Apollo scouts saw them- the Athena cabin, in full armor. Our back left flank. Permission to let Lou take the majority of our forces?”

“Go ahead,” Piper grins. “And I’ll come with you. I have a feeling we won’t need much of a guard around the flag anymore.” She steps forward. “I’m coming with- wait.”

Nico shrinks in fear, retreating even more into the tree he and his blonde friend have been taking shelter behind. 

“Jason and Nico. Did you see them?” Piper bites her lip. “This could be a trap. They could be waiting for us to all rush off and fight Annabeth, but in reality-”

“Piper,” Mitchell interrupts. “I saw skeletons fighting Apollo in the clash with Hermes and Demeter. And someone said they felt winds in the left flank of our forest.”

Piper relaxes. “Jason’s with Annabeth’s infiltration. That’s all the assurance I need.” She turns around. “Solace, stay with the flag. Everyone else-” 

They freeze, waiting for orders. 

“Let’s go kick Athena’s ass.”

Cheers echo in the empty forest, and Nico closes his eyes in relief. In no time, Piper, Meralda, Mitchell, and the half-dozen other campers who were guarding the flag are gone.

“Too close,” Nico mouths to Jason. “Too close.”

The son of Zeus nods in agreement, hand on his sword. His shrug shows his question enough-  _ What do we do? _

Nico looks over to the clearing, watching his boyfriend as Will fiddles with an ACE bandage, wrapping it around his wrist then pulling it off and starting again. He knows exactly what he needs to do. 

“You’re gonna be on your own to get out of here, Jace,” Nico murmurs. He can barely hear himself, but Jason understands just fine. He does nothing but nod.

Nico rises from his crouch, eyes on Will’s ace bandage. He’ waits until the bandage is halfway wound on Will’s tan wrist and then-

He pounces. 

Launching forward in a forward roll, Nico moves with the speed of a scorpion as he rolls to his feet in front of Will. Before his boyfriend can yell for help, Nico claps a hand over his mouth and grabs the ace bandage, wrapping around his own wrist once before yanking them both to the ground, falling into the shadow of a nearby tree. 

One second. Maybe two. One of his best stealth maneuvers, probably ever. 

It takes him a second to adjust to the darkness, and having someone else in here unprepared is… jarring. That someone is also his boyfriend, whose mouth is also under his hand. They’re also-also squished together, and despite the feeling of flying so fast he feels like his face is about to fall off; that's common with shadow travel, Nico can’t help but lose his concentration in the face of his… current situation. 

So when he tumbles out of the dark, it’s not where he expected. 

The first thing that registers is cold. His second is that, oh, we’re in the lake. 

Nico realizes with a start that Will’s still with him. He kicks with a fury, dragging the both of them to the surface. Sun twinkles, a mirage through the water. 

Nico breaks the surface, drawing in a huge breath. Will comes up not a second after he does, ACE bandage still fluttering from his wrist. Unfortunately, that bandage still isn’t attached to Nico. 

“You little shit!” Will complains. “The lake, Nico. Really?”

He shrugs sheepishly. “Accident. Besides, you think I’d voluntarily go in the water? No way, Sunshine.”

Will opens his mouth, but Nico clamps his hand over it. “Ah ah ah. If you yell for help from your team, I swear to the gods, I am not letting you so much as touch me for a week.”

Will freezes, seemingly weighing the pros and cons, but Nico isn’t done. “And Jason’s probably halfway to the barrier line with the flag right now. Calling for help would do nothing but bring Piper back to the clearing, and by then it would be too late.”

Will slumps underneath his grasp, mumbling something against his hand. “Fine, you win,” Will relents. “But can we get out of the lake now? I’m pretty bad at treading water.”

“Yeah, me too,” Nico admits. He lets go of Will, swimming for the dock. Nico pulls himself out of the lake, streams of water dripping down his hair and his jacket. He holds out a soaked hand to Will, who grabs it without a millisecond of hesitation. Pulling his boyfriend out of the water, Nico only then realizes just  _ how much _ water makes clothes stick to someone’s skin. 

He can see the lines of Will’s stomach, and  _ dear gods  _ he is so whipped. 

(Piper taught him that phrase. It frequents her vocabulary a lot.)

Nico drags off his jacket, shaking it over the lake. Water dribbles out, and before he realizes what he’s doing, he drops his jacket on the deck and pulls off his shirt. It’s not until he’s wringing it over the edge of the dock that he realizes,  _ holy shit- _

“Umm, Nico?”

The son of Hades turns back to his boyfriend. “Yeah?”

Will’s face is flushed. “You just took off your shirt.”

Nico shrugs. “It’s wet.”

“You’re shirtless.”

“The night isn’t that cold, Sunshine.”

“You’re  _ super freaking ripped.” _

Nico breaks into a smile at that. “Good to see you approve, Mr. Boyfriend.” He twists his shirt again, releasing a few streams of lakewater. Silence makes him turn around, Will’s eyes are slightly wide, fixed on a point definitely below his eyes. 

Nico winks. “My eyes are up here, Sunshine.”

Will blinks, looks up, and blushes furiously. “You’re impossible.”

Nico shrugs his less-wet shirt back over his torso. “I’m just doing my job, Solace.”

“Riiiight,” Will drawls, a bit of his natural Texas accent coming in. “And I’m as straight as a ruler. You-” He jabs a finger at Nico’s chest. “Literally dragged me away from my post and kidnapped me into a lake.”

Nico frowns. “That’s definitely a phrase I haven’t heard before. Kidnapped me into a lake… Is that even correct grammar?”

“Oh my god, shut the hell up,” Will laughs. “You’re so salty, holy crap.”

“I am not salty, Solace,” Nico warns. “I am annoyed. I wanted to shadow-travel to some nice,  _ secluded _ clearing, maybe make out with you for a bit, but nope.” He gestures to their surroundings. “Lake.”

Will shakes his head. “Only you could pull off effortless sass and still will the whole freaking game. You’re one of a kind, di Angelo.”

“I’m gay and I was born in the 1930’s. What do you expect?”

Will opens his mouth to respond again, but Nico’s done waiting. He reaches out a hand, curling his fingers around Will’s neck and firmly pressing their lips together. 

Will relaxes into his mouth. Hands brush his hips and his back, the water a small shock on his half-dried skin. 

But he doesn’t care, so his fingers tighten in Will’s soaked hair and drag him closer. Space between them begins to disappear as hips, chests, shoulders, and legs begin to line up. They’re both practically soaking wet, Nico a little less than Will, but neither of them care, or even notice. 

Will’s mouth opens up against his, and Nico can’t control his hands anymore. They disentangle themselves from Will’s hair, smoothing over his t-shirt collar and making their way down his chest. 

“We’re soaking wet,” Nico breathes against Will’s lips, gasping as their hips collide properly for a split second. “And in the middle of a lake pier.”

“Don’t care,” Will murmurs, and oh, would you look at that, self-control? Who’s that?

Several more minutes of making out continue, heat seared seconds culminating into minutes, only memories from the time consisting only of Will’s lips and Will’s hands on him,  _ oh gods- _

“You know, I don’t know if I should be surprised or impressed.”

They separate faster than metal with opposing magnetism, and Nico stumbles towards the owner of the voice.

“Lou, oh my gods,” Will gasps. “What- what are you-”

“Oh, stop stuttering,” She orders. “His team won, by the way. They sent me to find you.”

“Yes!” Nico cries, pumping his fist. Will glares at him, and Nico scoops up his jacket. “Sorry Sunshine, all’s fair in love and war.”

“Now get back here, will you?” Lou asks. “Everyone’s waiting to see just how angry their head medic is. Let’s go!”

She begins to walk back over the green, towards the cabins, where he can faintly see campers gathered.

“I found them!” Lou yells, and Jason runs up first. His face is stretched into a massive grin. “Dude. What the hell happened to you?”

“I accidentally shadow travelled us into the lake,” Nico explains. 

“That was so cool though,” Jason says as they walk through the U of cabins. “You just kind of rolled in there, grabbed him, then went poof.”

“Thanks to that poof I’m soaking wet,” Will grumbles. “And I’m going to have to take a shower. Which is great.”

“Suck it up, Solace,” Nico advises. “At least I didn’t let you drown.”

“Will!” Someone cries. Piper pops up, her face a mix of worry and fury. “What the hell happened.”

“Nico grabbed me and shadow-travelled me into a lake.”

Piper rounds on him. “Did you really?”

“The lake part was on accident.”

Piper huffs angrily. “But- but Mitchell said there were skeletons fighting with Demeter and Hermes-”

“I can control them from, like, really far away.”

Piper groans, leaning her head back. “I am so screwed. Do you know how many showers my cabin likes to take? A lot. That’s the answer. God, I’m so freaking screwed.”

“Look what you’ve done, Nico,” Will says in mock outrage. “You’ve doused me in lakewater and thwarted Piper’s spirits. How could you.”

“Oh, shut up,” Nico retorts. “It was a good play and you know it.”

“Yeah... I guess it was.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one day... i will be productive and finish that damn math assignment... but not today.


	4. so... will's your type?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a... scenario, envolving activities that should usually be behind closed doors not being behind closed doors.
> 
> TLDR; Nico and Will get caught making out in the Hades Cabin.

“Nico?”

The knocking on his door becomes more insistent, and Nico groans. “Jason, go away, I’m not in the mood for sparring right now.”

The door swings open. “I don’t think I’m Jason. I would know, right?” 

Nico drags himself out of the cocoon of blankets. “Oh.”

“Are you ever going to get out of bed?”

Nico sits up, face set in a frown. “Mornings are for sleeping, Will. Something you should be doing.”

“It’s ten am,” Will protests. “Time to get up.”

Nico groans, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “And what, I assume you’ve been up since… seven? Seven-thirty?”

“Six,” Will smirks. “Had morning inventory at the infirmary. Last night’s game left quite a lot of people in various states of injury. We’re running a bit low on bandaids.”

“Well that’s enlightening,” Nico grumbles, stretching. He’s clothed in only sweatpants, socks, and a thin shirt, while Will’s in a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and his usual cut-off shorts. Ever since they officially met last year, the only time Nico’s seen his boyfriend not wearing the shorts-and-flip-flops ensemble was during capture the flag games and through an Iris message mid-January. 

“Really, you’ve been up since six?”

Will nods. 

Nico snorts. “You’re an idiot.”

“You’re sassy in the mornings.”

Nico rolls his eyes, falling back onto the bed. “Come on, Solace. Sleep with me.”

Will’s face blooms an unfortunate red, and Nico chokes a second later, his cheeks stained a cherry-red. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Will cracks a smile, kicking off his shoes and falling onto the bed next to Nico. He wiggles around a bit, dropping his head on a pillow. “Holy crap, your bed is soft.”

Nico laughs. “Perks of getting to redesign the place. Besides, I don’t have any siblings, so I don’t need bunk beds. When Hazel stays, she sleeps on that one.”

He points to another double bed, on the other side of the cabin, beside the altar. Despite the dark aura of the Hades cabin, Will looks like he feels at home. “It is kind of nice not to deal with smacking your head on the ceiling or the upper bunk.”

Nico smiles, but it’s a little bittersweet. “I think I slept in a bunk bed with Bianca, once. It was in a sleeper car.”

Will shifts beside him. 

“I can’t remember how old we were.”

He can hear Will’s exhale. “Lee hated bottom bunks. He always insisted on sleeping on the top one.”

Nico shakes his head. “We’re mourning over bunk beds.”

“Different ways to grieve, Death Boy.”

Nico’s hand brushes Will’s in the bed, and their fingers tangle together. “We’re kind of weird, aren’t we?”

“You’re eighty-five and fifteen at the same time. I’ve reattached limbs on numerous occasions. You can raise zombies. My dad is literally the sun.”

“It’s a good weird.”

“Definitely.”

For a few more minutes, they just lay there, hand in hand. 

“Can I kiss you now?”

Nico laughs. “Please.”

Will turns over, pressing their lips lightly together.    
It isn’t like yesterday, demanding and fiery hot. But it isn’t… chaste, either. Will’s mouth on his feels heavenly, between the warm press of his lips and the faint flickering of his tongue. It lasts for a few more minutes, deep and warm, and he has a word for it now, he has a word-  _ passionate. _

Nico draws them closer, moving faster, and suddenly,  _ holy shit, _ everything is very hot very quick. 

Will is insisting, demanding, and accepting all at once. Somehow, Nico’s leg has found it’s way around Will’s hip, and it comes back to him with a bang that oh gods, these sweatpants are  _ really thin. _

Then Will moans into his mouth, and whoops, all of his rational thoughts are gone. 

He pushes back, pressing down, and manages to roll on top of his boyfriend. Hands are in curls, gold and black alike. 

He’s never really understood the term lust before. He knows love, now, but this is the first time he’s felt completely out of control yet in control at the same time. The only thing he knows is Will’s lips are on his and it’s a blessing, a godsdamned blessing.

His lips slip below, remembering faintly something Will did once, something that made him blurt out expletives in his mother tongue while pressed against a dark corner of the infirmary. He bares his teeth, nipping at Will’s neck, and the sounds he gets are better than the Muses’s choir. He could spend hours, no, days dragging that sound out of Will, and he'd never get bored. 

Faintly, he can register Will’s hands on his waist, his hips, his back, searching and claiming and spreading all over him. He can’t think, he can’t breathe, the only thing in his mind is  _ whatever you do, don’t stop. _

So he doesn’t. In fact, he pushes further, pushing Will into the blankets and effectively straddling him. Will’s hands are everywhere, and everywhere he touches lights up like his skin is on fire. It’s amazing, and brilliant, and he wants more, right now. 

There is no way this is just ‘making out’. This is leading somewhere more, it  _ feels _ like something more, and Nico can’t stop. He just. Can’t.

“What the-!”

Everything flies back to him at once. He’s in the Hades cabin. He’s kissing Will, and  _ holy shit someone else is here. _

He turns, twisting, but his balance is off from being on his knees, and he tangles in the sheets, falling over the edge of the bed. “Ow,” he groans from the floor. “Damn it.”

“Holy shit, does this mean-”

“Oh my god I need to go swim in the Lethe now.”

“You two finally got together!”

The statements come from Piper, Percy, and Annabeth respectively. Pulling himself out of the sheets, Nico sees that not only are those three there, but they’re accompanied by Jason and Leo.    
Great. Just great. Almost all his friends just walked in on him making out with his boyfriend. This is  _ fine. _

(Spoiler alert- it’s not fine. It’s awkward, that’s what it is.)

“So… Nico? When did this happen?”

He looks towards the bed, and Will is now sitting on the end of it, face bright red like a tomato. “Um, August.”

“Since August?” Piper screams. Nico winces at the high decibel. “That’s almost a year!”

“Will was at school for a lot of it,” Nico explains. “We Iris-messaged and shadow-travelled. It worked pretty well.”

Jason blinks like there’s something in his eyes. “That’s, uh, great.”

They stand there, awkward, for a second more, and Nico finally snaps. “Oh my gods, you’re more awkward than Frank when he’s nervous. Get out, we’ll fill you in all later.”

His friends scurry out thankfully, and Will shrinks at the edge of the bed. For a second, it seems like he’s crying, which is weird, but Will looks up, and Nico realizes he’s laughing. 

“Why are you laughing?”

Will only giggles. “That was the most cliche way for them to all find out and we still managed it. I think I’m gonna cry.”

“Tears of mirth or sadness?”

“Tears of mirth, don’t worry.”

Against his own will, a chuckle escapes from Nico’s mouth. “It is kind of funny,” he admits. 

“See? Told you. Get dressed, Death Boy, ‘cause we’ve got an awkward conversation ahead of us.”

Nico winces. “You’ve got that right.” He pulls his shirt over his head, exchanging it for a fresh one. He can feel Will’s eyes on his chest. “You’re really subtle, you know that?”

“My boyfriend is hot as hell,” Will shrugs. “What, I can’t look?”

“I am hell, to be exact,” Nico clarifies. “Now, turn around, I have to change my pants.”

“Yes sir,” Will says, and turns around as directed. Nico shrugs off his sweatpants, shoving them under his pillow, then pulling on a pair of boxers and then a pair of black skinny jeans. “You can turn around now,” he says as he runs his belt through the loops, locking it taunt around his waist. Nico pulls on socks, then his combat boots, and laces them up quickly. “Alright, I’m ready to go.”

“What, no jacket?”

Nico rolls his eyes. “Eighty degrees is when I officially go to short sleeves.”

“You’re such a dork.”

“Says the dorkiest dork to ever dork.”

“You’re really something, you know?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

They’re still bickering when they step out of the Hades cabin, and Nico blinks in the face of the sun like he does every morning. “Gods, that’s bright.”

“And I thought you said you weren’t a vampire,” Will simpers jokingly. 

“Di Angelo, here. Now.”

Nico grabs Will’s hand, dragging him over to Piper, who’s gesturing murderously behind the one who called him over. (Jason) She appears to be motioning to Will, and he gets the idea.  _ Hurt him and I kill you. _

“Piper, stop that,” Nico complains. “If you kill Will I’ll kill Jason, this can go both ways.”

“Glad to see you value my life, oh boyfriend of mine,” Will quips. 

“He’s your boyfriend?” Piper asks. 

Nico nods awkwardly. 

“Same still goes. You hurt him, I kill you.”

“Piper,” Nico complains. “Please. As if Will could hurt anything.”

“True,” she agrees, a goofy grin across her face. “You have a boyfriend. Oh my gods!”

Will squints. “I thought you weren’t one of those squealy Aphrodite girls?”

Piper’s grin turns to a playful glare. “Watch your mouth, Solace, or I’ll shove my sword so far up your ass you’ll look like you’re cosplaying a corndog.”

“Okaayy,” Jason interrupts. “Cool it, Pipes. Neeks, we’re all really happy for you.”

Percy tilts his head, squinting. “So… Will’s your type?”

Annabeth and Nico’s resounding groans make everyone else burst into laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys the slow burn is ALMOST DONE IT'S LIKE 40k WTF HAVE I CREATED i'll be posting that one next!

**Author's Note:**

> someday i will stop writing fluff and get onto my actual fics but today is nOT THAT DAY ENJOY YALL
> 
> come yell at me on tumblr @all-this-panic-still-no-disco and come to instagram for a trash can of my faves @liza_marri


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